Unlock Thousands of Internet Radio Stations on Your Echo Devices with Sound Stream’s New m3u Playlist Support

With the latest update to the Sound Stream Alexa skill, we are thrilled to introduce support for m3u playlists. This new feature expands your audio experience by enabling you to create and enjoy playlists containing numerous internet radio stations directly from your Dropbox account, all with the convenience of Alexa on your Echo devices.

What is an m3u Playlist?

An m3u playlist is a text file format used to store multimedia playlists. Originally designed for audio files, it has become a popular method to compile lists of internet radio streams. The m3u file includes the locations of media files or streams, allowing media players to queue and play the content seamlessly.

Structure and Functionality

The structure of an m3u file is straightforward. It consists of:

1. Comments or playlist metadata (optional) prefixed by #.
2. The URLs or paths to audio files or streams.

Here is a simple example:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Sample Artist - Sample Title
https://example.com/stream

In this example, #EXTM3U indicates the beginning of the playlist, and #EXTINF provides information about the stream that follows.

Example of Adding an m3u Playlist to Sound Stream

To integrate your m3u playlists with Sound Stream, follow these steps:

1. Create or Link Your Dropbox Account: Ensure your Dropbox account is linked with the Sound Stream skill.
2. Create the Playlist Folder: In your Dropbox — Apps — SoundStream folder, create a subfolder for your m3u playlist.
3. Upload the m3u File: Place your m3u file into the subfolder you created.

For instance:

Dropbox - Apps - SoundStream - My Radio - myplaylist.m3u

Once added, the playlist will be synchronized automatically every time you open the Sound Stream skill.

Creating a Simple m3u Playlist

Creating an m3u playlist is easy and can be done with any text editor. Note that the Echo player can only process a single link in each m3u file, so you will need to create multiple m3u files if you have multiple streams:

1. Open a Text Editor: Use Notepad, TextEdit, or any text editor of your choice.
2. Add Playlist Data: Begin with #EXTM3U to define the file as an m3u playlist. Add a single stream URL preceded by #EXTINF for metadata (artist, title).

Example:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Classic Radio
http://streaming.example.com/classic

Note: the URL to the audio can support http and https (secure http).

3. Save and Upload: Save the file with a .m3u extension and upload it to the appropriate folder in your Dropbox - Apps - SoundStream directory.

Important: Sound Stream will be searching for your audio stream by the .m3u file name rather than by the name provided in the #EXTINF tag. For example: Classic Radio.m3u.

Benefits of Using m3u Playlists with Sound Stream

1. Cost-Effective Storage: With m3u playlists, you don’t have to pay Dropbox for storage. A free base account (2GB) can accommodate millions (~10 000 000) of m3u files. Instead, it will cost you only $0.99 per month for the Sound Stream Premium feature.
2. Organized Navigation: For easy navigation through multiple radio stations, you can organize them into Sound Stream playlists.
   For example, let say you have a playlist called “My Radio” containing a number of m3u files. You can say:

Alexa, ask Sound Stream to play my radio

It will start playing the first .m3ufile in the playlist (sorted alphabetically).
This way, you can call a playlist by name and switch between stations using the NEXT and PREVIOUS commands.

You can also play.m3u by name, it works exactly the same as with any audio files uploaded to your Dropbox. For example:

Alexa, ask Sound Stream to play classic radio

The skill will find your Classic Radio.m3u and start a playback.

Links to Free m3u Playlists and Internet Radio Stations

Now is a fun stuff. To get you started, here are some resources for finding free m3u playlists and internet radio stations:

• FMSTREAM.ORG— A community-driven site with many thousands of internet radio stations.
• m3u Radio and Music Playlist— Lists and streams numerous radio stations worldwide.
• Internet Archive— a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.

Tutorial: how to create m3u file based on the radio stations listed on the FMSTREAM.ORG . You can use same technique to create m3u files from any web link pointing to an audio stream or an audio file.

1. Go to the FMSTREAM.ORG
2. Select a radio station. You can use a search bar to find a station by style, country, language and more.
3. Choose a quality of stream (48–128), the higher the better.
4. Copy the stream’s url into your text editor.

5. Add all mandatory elements to your file:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Radio Caroline
http://sc8.radiocaroline.net:8010/

6. Save the file with the .m3u extension.

7. Upload the file to your Dropbox, for example:

Dropbox - Apps - SoundStream - Radio Stations - Radio Caroline.m3u

I used a Dropbox client for Mac OS. You can upload files directly to the SoundStream folder using a web browser.

With these steps and resources, you can easily create and enjoy a vast array of internet radio stations through your Echo devices using the Sound Stream Alexa skill. Happy listening!